Volkswagen Passat goes petrol only
BY TUNG NGUYEN | 2nd Jul 2018
VOLKSWAGEN Australia has lost more of its models to the new European World-harmonised Light-vehicle Testing Procedure (WLTP), this time discontinuing its diesel-powered 140TDI Passat sedan and wagon.
Speaking to GoAuto, Volkswagen Australia general manager of corporate communications Paul Pottinger confirmed only the Passat sedans and regular Passat wagons are affected, with the high-riding Alltrack still available with the 2.0-litre turbo-diesel powertrain.
“The diesel will continue in Alltrack, but it’s not available (in sedan and wagon) because of the production rationalisation due to the WLTP,” he said.
Meanwhile, the four-door petrol-powered 206TSI R-Line Passat has also been dropped, with Mr Pottinger suggesting that it was positioned too closely to the brand’s flagship Arteon passenger car.
Both cars share the same 206kW/350Nm 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engine and all-wheel-drive set-up, with the outgoing Passat wearing a $58,490 pricetag and the Arteon $7000 upstream at $65,490.
The Passat mid-size range still kicks off at $35,990 before on-roads for the 132TSI sedan powered by a 132kW/250Nm turbocharged 1.8-litre engine paired to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission sending power to the front wheels.
With the 140TDI and 206TSI R-Line gone however, the Passat sedan range now tops out at $41,990 for the 132TSI Comfortline that sports the same power and drivetrain combination as the base grade.
Five-door wagon versions are $2000 more expensive than their sedan counterparts, but the 206TSI R-Line variant is still on offer in big-booted guise for $60,490.
The outgoing diesel versions used a 140kW/400Nm 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine and were priced at $47,990 for the sedan and $49,990 for the wagon, but the powertrain is still available in the Passat Alltrack that starts at $51,290.
For the first five months of the year, sales of Volkswagen’s Passat range have slowed 33.2 per cent compared with the same period in 2017 to 697 units.
However, the entire sub-$60,000 medium passenger car segment has shrunk by 25.6 per cent year to date, with only the Hyundai Sonata and i40, and Skoda Octavia the only models to record positive growth of 25.6, 2.6 and 4.6 per cent respectively.
Despite the South Korean brand’s increase in share however, the Passat still outpaces the Sonata (451) and i40 (361), as well as the Kia Optima (237) and wagon-only Subaru Levorg (376).
The Toyota Camry commands the lion’s share of the segment with 6116 units and a 51 per cent market share, while the Mazda6 is second and accounts for 10.6 per cent with 1270 new registrations year to date.
